Public Policy, Secret Action [Abstract]

Ethics & International Affairs, Volume 3 (1989)

Exploitation of the executive exercise of covert operations has presented a
dilemma, but Colby maintains that even in peacetime a "democratic society must
have and respect some secrets." Does democracy, by its inherent nature, preclude
the employment of covert action, even under exceptional conditions? Colby argues
that the constitutional decision-making process is an ethical and legal one. In
wartime, a "just" war is the goal, and the use of covert action must be
evaluated by two essential criteria: self-defense and proportionality to the act
requiring self-defense.